Basic Chess Tactics

If you are a beginner at chess or a novice looking to improve their chess game, you’re in luck: there is always room to learn some basic chess tactics that will help you better understand the game and increase your chances of winning. When you understand the fundamentals of basic chess tactics, you’ll find it much easier to learn about the best chess moves that will help you improve your game—and start winning more matches. The following guide will give you a rundown of the most important basic chess tactics that you should know.

Improve
Your Chess Game

Before the discussion of basic chess
tactics and strategies that every player should know, a quick note about
improving your chess game. The best way to improve your chess game is to
practice, practice—and practice some more. Play with friends, play with family
members, play with fellow chess enthusiasts—even play chess with you! The more
you explore different strategies and plans, the more you will be able to
develop new strategies seemingly on the fly during actual matches.

Basic
Chess Tactics You Should Know

There are an endless number of chess strategies out there ranging from simple to highly advanced strategies often used by pros with decades of experience. However, there are 4 basic chess tactics that all players–no matter their age or experience level–should know by heart. These tactics are: fool’s mate, forks, pins and skewers. Let’s take a closer look at each of these 4 tactics in order to understand why they are so important for all players of chess.

Fool’s
Mate: This tactic is considered the fastest way to
issue a checkmate. This tactic requires an opponent to make some key mistakes,
so it may not be the right tactic when you are playing with someone who will
have seen (and likely attempted) the fool’s mate tactic countless times. It is
ideal against players who are unfamiliar with the tactic, however, which
accounts for its popularity.

Forks: This tactic is one of the best ways to take out multiple opponent
pieces early on in the game. This tactic involves using your pieces to
repeatedly take out more than one piece at a time. Best of all, any piece in
the game can be used to ‘fork,’ so there’s no need to limit yourself to any
particular option. However, knights are the most popular for his tactic as they
can take out more than one opponent without any special considerations
required.

Pins: This tactic involves pinning your opponent’s pieces in place using
strategic moves that will force your opponent to keep certain pieces from
moving. You will need to use your bishops, rooks and queen for this particular
move, so it can be risky, but the payoff is certainly worth it.

Skewers: This tactic involves forcing your opponents to move valuable
pieces while at the same time leaving their less valuable pieces available to
be captured. This is a long-term tactic that can have significant payoff in the
end.